In making a case for the liberal arts in teacher education, the point is made that the liberal arts contribute to the professional qualifications of teaching. If teachers are to be more than mere technicians, the professional skills of problem solving, analysis, and critical thought are needed. A discussion is presented of the specific need for…

This document is addressed to individuals concerned with the preparation of history teachers at the secondary-school level. The role of history is to provide a critical approach to the past, not simply to store and transmit the data society wants remembered. In order to produce effective teachers, a program of preparation depends, in part, upon…

The shortage of well-trained science and mathematics teachers, better textbooks, curricula, and instructional theories are discussed. Beginning in 1985, the National Science Foundation focused on projects that will strengthen science and mathematics education for students at the middle/junior high school and elementary levels. (MLW)

This paper discusses reasons for the mutual disregard between teacher educators and school teachers, who should be partners in preservice teacher education. Drawing upon research, the paper examines the overall context in which the work of teaching is being conceptualized in contemporary Europe, asking fundamental questions about why the mutual…

With motivational insight, educational understanding, and independence, a maverick educator transformed an East Los Angeles high school previously on a disaster course. In the process, one of his most gifted and imaginative teachers, Jaime Escalante, became a media celebrity. (Author/MSE)

Presents a brief history of merit pay and includes arguments both for and against merit pay. Suggests that a program to recognize and reward what a superior teacher does in the classroom is feasible, and even recommended, for the art educator. (LS)

Reviews "The Moral Dimensions of Teaching" (J. I. Goodlad, R. Soder, and K. A. Sirotnik, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), a collection of essays addressing the teaching vocation and the moral dimensions of the profession. These analyses ignore gender as a reason teachers do not have professional status and autonomy. (SLD)

Explores the relation between gender and pedagogy, examining the importance of gendered bodies in the construction of the great teacher as a cultural phenomenon. The paper discusses the gendering of the slippage between great and abusive pedagogy, investigating whether male diction must become malediction when women instigate powerful pedagogical…

New ways of thinking about leadership require that leaders move their big desks and establish environments that encourage trust and open communication. Educational leaders must trust their colleagues to make wise choices. When teachers are treated democratically as leaders, classrooms will also become democratic learning organizations. (SM)

This interview with a school principal, Efrain Vila, argues that staff development is crucial in school reform. Teachers cannot be asked to use new processes if they do not have opportunities to learn how to use them. His school's faculty meetings always include staff development components. Parent involvement is also essential. (SM)

Education systems around the world are talking about "lifelong learning", "futures", "critical literacies", and so on. What do these things mean in the context of being a teacher of mathematics? In this article, the author attempts to put these things into perspective. She contends that, in clarifying any situation…

The Progressive Education Association (PEA) was a vibrant, influential organization that survived for over three decades (1919 to 1955). Since women comprised a significant majority of the nation's teachers during that time, but were also situated within staunch socially constructed gender roles, the question is raised how women and women's issues…

Measurement needs of our nation's educational systems include the areas of student self-esteem and qualities of effective teachers. Student self-esteem is crucial in fostering academic achievement; in fact, some outstanding scientists and engineers have reported initially low self-esteem, but stressed the influence of a role model who provided…

Discussed in this article are questions about the context for teacher evaluation that raise such issues as implementation, acceptance, administrative feasibility, and justice. The seven questions address the legal and political context of evaluation, staff or student diversity, teachers' roles, organizational structures, humane evaluation…

Discusses (1) working conditions and responsibilities of California social studies teachers, i.e., where they work, general working environments, what they teach, and the student population they serve; (2) age, experience, education, and male/female ratios; and (3) professional opportunities. Offers suggestions for strengthening psychic rewards…